The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to dispersing odor during sleep and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to dispersing odor without inducing arousal.
The influence of odor on living beings has been greatly studied. A number of studies have also researched the influence of odor on living beings during sleep.
Badia et al (1990) assessed whether humans react to olfactory stimuli presented in sleep. Badia et al found that peppermint presentation of about 3 min to sleeping humans did not affect respiration during these 3 min in comparison to other sleeping periods.
Marlier at al. (2005) showed that the introduction of a pleasant odor in premature newborn's incubator is of therapeutic value in the treatment of apneas unresponsive to caffeine and doxapram.
Seelke and Blumberg (2004) examined whether sniffing and arousal are dissociable by presenting 8-day-old rats with dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) while monitoring respiration and behavioral state. It was found that sniffing, including polypnea, occurred while the rats were asleep. Seelke and Blumberg also noted that presentation of DMDS did not evoke reliable arousal responses in the sleeping rats.
Stuck et al (2007) found that the presentation of a strong but selective olfactory stimulus does not lead to arousals during nocturnal sleep in humans. In contrast, Stuck et al found that stimulation with a selective trigeminal irritant, CO2, produced a concentration-dependent increase in arousal frequency.
Additional background art includes:
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